“Second place: James!”
He was first in many things, but seemingly never the things that actually mattered.
1: He was only 4 when his parents stopped pretending to love him. His bedtime stories fell second to their own interests, and he was forced to face the dark alone.
2: Debate was a great extracurricular in his father’s eyes, but only if he got first place. Second place, according to his father, was a loser’s place. He got second that day. By then he had learned to not cry.
3: Even in the trial exam Shiro had brought to their middle school, James was second to Keith. It was frustrating, how his endless dedication and hard work seemed unable to surpass Keith’s raw talent.
4: When it was announced that Shiro and the rest of the crew had died, James had done everything in his power to keep Keith from spiralling. When Keith got expelled, James chased after him, clad in his sleep wear. It was pathetic. But he didn’t cry. At least he didn’t cry.
5: Maybe James was the foolish one, to think that Keith would settle after 6 years of war. To think that he wouldn’t leave again. But Keith had more work to do in the stars, and James was duty bound to Earth. They parted, James gifting a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums, pink camellias, forget me nots, his heart buried within the petals.
[side note, panel 4 does not align with my personal headcanons but i wanted 5 panels and this was the only thing i could come up with lol]
